Heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus for managing dummy wafer

ABSTRACT

When a carrier storing a plurality of dummy wafers therein is transported into a heat treatment apparatus, the carrier is registered as a dummy carrier exclusive to the dummy wafers. A dummy database in which a treatment history of each of the dummy wafers is associated with the carrier is held in a storage part. The treatment history of each of the dummy wafers registered in the dummy database is displayed on a display part of the heat treatment apparatus. An operator of the heat treatment apparatus views the displayed information to thereby appropriately grasp and manage the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heat treatment method and a heattreatment apparatus which manage dummy wafers stored in a carrier.

Description of the Background Art

In the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, attention hasbeen given to flash lamp annealing (FLA) which heats a semiconductorwafer in an extremely short time. The flash lamp annealing is a heattreatment technique in which xenon flash lamps (the term “flash lamp” asused hereinafter refers to a “xenon flash lamp”) are used to irradiate asurface of a semiconductor wafer with a flash of light, thereby raisingthe temperature of only the surface of the semiconductor wafer in anextremely short time (several milliseconds or less).

The xenon flash lamps have a spectral distribution of radiation rangingfrom ultraviolet to near-infrared regions. The wavelength of lightemitted from the xenon flash lamps is shorter than that of light emittedfrom conventional halogen lamps, and approximately coincides with afundamental absorption band of a silicon semiconductor wafer. Thus, whena semiconductor wafer is irradiated with a flash of light emitted fromthe xenon flash lamps, the temperature of the semiconductor wafer can beraised rapidly, with only a small amount of light transmitted throughthe semiconductor wafer. Also, it has turned out that flash irradiation,that is, the irradiation of a semiconductor wafer with a flash of lightin an extremely short time of several milliseconds or less allows aselective temperature rise only near the surface of the semiconductorwafer.

Such flash lamp annealing is used for processes that require heating inan extremely short time, e.g. typically for the activation of impuritiesimplanted in a semiconductor wafer. The irradiation of a surface of asemiconductor wafer implanted with impurities by an ion implantationprocess with a flash of light emitted from flash lamps allows thetemperature rise only in the surface of the semiconductor wafer to anactivation temperature for an extremely short time, thereby achievingonly the activation of the impurities without deep diffusion of theimpurities.

Typically, not only heat treatment but also processing or treatment ofsemiconductor wafers is performed lot by lot (a group of semiconductorwafers subjected to the same processing or treatment under the sameconditions). In a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus,semiconductor wafers in a lot are processed sequentially in succession.In a flash lamp annealer, semiconductor wafers in a lot are alsotransported one by one into a chamber and heat-treated sequentially.

Unfortunately, the temperature of in-chamber structures (structures in achamber) including a susceptor for holding a semiconductor wafer and thelike changes in some cases in the course of the sequential processing ortreatment of semiconductor wafers in a lot. Such a phenomenon occurswhen new treatment starts in a flash lamp annealer which has been in anonoperational condition for some time or when treatment conditionsincluding a treatment temperature of semiconductor wafers and the likeare changed. Changes in temperature of the in-chamber structuresincluding the susceptor and the like in the course of the treatment ofsemiconductor wafers in a lot give rise to a problem that there arises adifference in temperature history during the treatment between initialsemiconductor wafers and latter semiconductor wafers in the lot.

To solve such a problem, it has been common practice that dummy wafersnot to be treated are transported into the chamber and supported by thesusceptor prior to the start of the treatment of a lot, and flashheating treatment is performed on the dummy wafers under the sameconditions as the lot to be treated, whereby the temperature of thein-chamber structures including the susceptor and the like is increasedin advance (dummy running) U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2017/0125312 discloses that flash heating processing is performed onabout 10 dummy wafers, so that the temperature of the in-chamberstructures including the susceptor and the like reaches a stabletemperature during the processing.

The dummy wafers not to be treated are used in the dummy runningperformed a plurality of times, and are repeatedly subjected to theheating treatment. As a result, cracking and warpage in the dummy wafersare prone to occur as the dummy wafers deteriorate. The occurrence ofcracking and warpage in the dummy wafers during the dummy running causescontamination in the chamber and transport trouble. It is henceimportant to accurately grasp the deterioration condition of the dummywafers and to thereby prevent cracking and warpage in the dummy wafers.In conventional techniques, however, the deterioration condition has notsufficiently been grasped because an operator views or writes on paperthe treatment history of the dummy wafers to manage the treatmenthistory.

SUMMARY

The present invention is intended for a method of managing a dummy waferstored in a carrier for a heat treatment process.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the method comprisesthe steps of: (a) transporting a carrier storing a plurality of dummywafers therein into a heat treatment apparatus; (b) registering thecarrier as a dummy carrier exclusive to the dummy wafers; (c) performingheating treatment on the dummy wafers; (d) storing a treatment historyof each of the dummy wafers in association with the carrier; and (e)displaying the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers stored inthe step (d).

The method is capable of appropriately managing the treatment history ofeach of the dummy wafers.

The present invention is also intended for a heat treatment apparatusfor managing a dummy wafer stored in a carrier.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the heat treatmentapparatus comprises: a receiving part for receiving a carrier storing aplurality of dummy wafers therein; a registration part for registeringthe carrier transported into the receiving part as a dummy carrierexclusive to the dummy wafers; a heating part for performing heatingtreatment on the dummy wafers; a storage part for storing a treatmenthistory of each of the dummy wafers in association with the carrier; anda display part for displaying the treatment history of each of the dummywafers stored in the storage part.

The heat treatment apparatus is capable of appropriately managing thetreatment history of each of the dummy wafers.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to appropriatelymanage the treatment history of a dummy wafer.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a heat treatment apparatus according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 1:

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of aheat treatment part;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the entire external appearance of aholder;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a susceptor;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the susceptor;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a transfer mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the transfer mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an arrangement of halogen lamps;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a controller;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing a procedure for management of dummywafers in the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a carrier ID authenticationscreen displayed on a display part; and

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of a dummy wafer management table.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, a heat treatment apparatus according to the present inventionwill be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a heat treatment apparatus100 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view ofthe heat treatment apparatus 100. The heat treatment apparatus 100 is aflash lamp annealer for irradiating a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer Wserving as a substrate with flashes of light to heat the semiconductorwafer W. The size of the semiconductor wafer W to be treated is notparticularly limited. For example, the semiconductor wafer W to betreated has a diameter of 300 mm and 450 mm. The semiconductor wafer Wprior to the transport into the heat treatment apparatus 100 isimplanted with impurities. The heat treatment apparatus 100 performsheating treatment on the semiconductor wafer W to thereby activate theimpurities implanted in the semiconductor wafer W. It should be notedthat the dimensions of components and the number of components are shownin exaggeration or in simplified form, as appropriate, in FIG. 1 and thesubsequent figures for the sake of easier understanding. An XYZrectangular coordinate system in which an XY plane is defined as ahorizontal plane and a Z axis is defined to extend in a verticaldirection is additionally shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 for purposes ofclarifying the directional relationship therebetween.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat treatment apparatus 100 includes: anindexer part 101 for transporting untreated semiconductor wafers W fromthe outside into the heat treatment apparatus 100 and for transportingtreated semiconductor wafers W to the outside of the heat treatmentapparatus 100; an alignment part 230 for positioning an untreatedsemiconductor wafer W; two cooling parts 130 and 140 for coolingsemiconductor wafers W subjected to the heating treatment; a heattreatment part 160 for performing flash heating treatment on asemiconductor wafer W; and a transport robot 150 for transferring asemiconductor wafer W to and from the cooling parts 130 and 140 and theheat treatment part 160. The heat treatment apparatus 100 furtherincludes a controller 3 for controlling operating mechanisms provided inthe aforementioned processing parts and the transport robot 150 to causethe flash heating treatment of the semiconductor wafer W to proceed.

The indexer part 101 includes: a load port 110 for placing thereon aplurality of (in this preferred embodiment, two) carriers (or cassettes)C arranged in juxtaposition; and a transfer robot 120 for taking anuntreated semiconductor wafer W out of each of the carriers C and forstoring a treated semiconductor wafer W into each of the carriers C. Anunmanned transport vehicle (an AGV (automatic guided vehicle) or an OHT(overhead hoist transfer)) or the like transports a carrier C withuntreated semiconductor wafers W stored therein to place the carrier Con the load port 110, and carries a carrier C with treated semiconductorwafers W stored therein away from the load port 110.

In the load port 110, the carriers C are movable upwardly and downwardlyas indicated by an arrow CU in FIG. 2 so that the transfer robot 120 isable to load any semiconductor wafer W into each carrier C and unloadany semiconductor wafer W from each carrier C. The load port 110 isprovided with a bar code reader 115 not shown (with reference to FIG.10). The bar code reader 115 reads carrier ID (identification data) froma bar code on a tag attached to each of the carriers C. The carriers Cmay be of the following types: an SMIF (standard mechanical interface)pod and an OC (open cassette) which exposes stored semiconductor wafer Wto the outside atmosphere, in addition to a FOUP (front opening unifiedpod) which stores semiconductor wafer W in an enclosed or sealed space.

The transfer robot 120 is slidable as indicated by an arrow 120S in FIG.1, pivotable as indicated by an arrow 120R in FIG. 1, and movableupwardly and downwardly. Thus, the transfer robot 120 loads and unloadssemiconductor wafers W into and from the two carriers C, and transferssemiconductor wafers W to and from the alignment part 230 and the twocooling parts 130 and 140. The operation of the transfer robot 120loading and unloading the semiconductor wafers W into and from thecarriers C is achieved by the sliding movement of a hand 121 of thetransfer robot 120 and the upward and downward movement of the carriersC. The transfer of the semiconductor wafers W between the transfer robot120 and the alignment part 230 or between the transfer robot 120 and thecooling parts 130 and 140 is achieved by the sliding movement of thehand 121 and the upward and downward movement of the transfer robot 120.

The alignment part 230 is provided on and connected to one side of theindexer part 101 in adjacent relation thereto along the Y axis. Thealignment part 230 is a processing part for rotating a semiconductorwafer W in a horizontal plane to an orientation appropriate for flashheating. The alignment part 230 includes an alignment chamber 231 whichis a housing made of an aluminum alloy, a mechanism provided in thealignment chamber 231 and for supporting and rotating a semiconductorwafer W in a horizontal attitude, a mechanism provided in the alignmentchamber 231 and for optically detecting a notch, an orientation flat,and the like formed in a peripheral portion of a semiconductor wafer W,and the like.

The transfer robot 120 transfers a semiconductor wafer W to and from thealignment part 230. The semiconductor wafer W with the center thereof ina predetermined position is transferred from the transfer robot 120 tothe alignment chamber 231. The alignment part 230 rotates thesemiconductor wafer W received from the indexer part 101 about avertical axis passing through the central portion of the semiconductorwafer W to optically detect a notch and the like, thereby adjusting theorientation of the semiconductor wafer W. The semiconductor wafer Wsubjected to the orientation adjustment is taken out of the alignmentchamber 231 by the transfer robot 120.

A transport chamber 170 for housing the transport robot 150 therein isprovided as space for transport of the semiconductor wafer W by means ofthe transport robot 150. A treatment chamber 6 in the heat treatmentpart 160, a first cool chamber 131 in the cooling part 130, and a secondcool chamber 141 in the cooling part 140 are connected in communicationwith three sides of the transport chamber 170.

The heat treatment part 160 which is a principal part of the heattreatment apparatus 100 is a substrate processing part for irradiating apreheated semiconductor wafer W with flashes of light from xenon flashlamps FL to perform flash heating treatment on the semiconductor waferW. The configuration of the heat treatment part 160 will be describedlater in detail.

The two cooling parts 130 and 140 are substantially similar inconfiguration to each other. The cooling parts 130 and 140 includerespective metal cooling plates and respective quartz plates (both notshown) placed on the upper surfaces of the cooling plates in the firstand second cool chambers 131 and 141 which are housings made of analuminum alloy. Each of the cooling plates is temperature-controlled atordinary temperatures (approximately 23° C.) by a Peltier element or bycirculation of constant-temperature water. The semiconductor wafer Wsubjected to the flash heating treatment in the heat treatment part 160is transported into the first cool chamber 131 or the second coolchamber 141, and is then placed and cooled on a corresponding one of thequartz plate.

The first cool chamber 131 and the second cool chamber 141 providedbetween the indexer part 101 and the transport chamber 170 are connectedto both the indexer part 101 and the transport chamber 170. Each of thefirst cool chamber 131 and the second cool chamber 141 has two openingsfor transporting the semiconductor wafer W thereinto and therefrom. Oneof the openings of the first cool chamber 131 which is connected to theindexer part 101 is openable and closable by a gate valve 181. The otheropening of the first cool chamber 131 which is connected to thetransport chamber 170 is openable and closable by a gate valve 183. Inother words, the first cool chamber 131 and the indexer part 101 areconnected to each other through the gate valve 181, and the first coolchamber 131 and the transport chamber 170 are connected to each otherthrough the gate valve 183.

The gate valve 181 is opened when the semiconductor wafer W istransferred between the indexer part 101 and the first cool chamber 131.The gate valve 183 is opened when the semiconductor wafer W istransferred between the first cool chamber 131 and the transport chamber170. When the gate valve 181 and the gate valve 183 are closed, theinterior of the first cool chamber 131 is an enclosed space.

One of the two openings of the second cool chamber 141 which isconnected to the indexer part 101 is openable and closable by a gatevalve 182. The other opening of the second cool chamber 141 which isconnected to the transport chamber 170 is openable and closable by agate valve 184. In other words, the second cool chamber 141 and theindexer part 101 are connected to each other through the gate valve 182,and the second cool chamber 141 and the transport chamber 170 areconnected to each other through the gate valve 184.

The gate valve 182 is opened when the semiconductor wafer W istransferred between the indexer part 101 and the second cool chamber141. The gate valve 184 is opened when the semiconductor wafer W istransferred between the second cool chamber 141 and the transportchamber 170. When the gate valve 182 and the gate valve 184 are closed,the interior of the second cool chamber 141 is an enclosed space.

The cooling parts 130 and 140 further include respective gas supplymechanisms for supplying clean nitrogen gas to the first and second coolchambers 131 and 141 and respective exhaust mechanisms for exhaustingatmospheres from the first and second cool chambers 131 and 141. The gassupply mechanisms and the exhaust mechanisms may be capable of changingthe flow rates thereof in two levels.

The transport robot 150 provided in the transport chamber 170 ispivotable about a vertical axis as indicated by an arrow 150R. Thetransport robot 150 includes two linkage mechanisms comprised of aplurality of arm segments. Transport hands 151 a and 151 b each forholding a semiconductor wafer W are provided at respective distal endsof the two linkage mechanisms. These transport hands 151 a and 151 b arevertically spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other, andare independently linearly slidable in the same horizontal direction bythe respective linkage mechanisms. The transport robot 150 moves a baseprovided with the two linkage mechanisms upwardly and downwardly tothereby move the two transport hands 151 a and 151 b spaced thepredetermined distance apart from each other upwardly and downwardly.

When the transport robot 150 transfers (loads and unloads) asemiconductor wafer W to and from the first cool chamber 131, the secondcool chamber 141, or the treatment chamber 6 in the heat treatment part160 as a transfer target, both of the transport hands 151 a and 151 bpivot into opposed relation to the transfer target, and move upwardly ordownwardly after (or during) the pivotal movement, so that one of thetransport hands 151 a and 151 b reaches a vertical position at which thesemiconductor wafer W is to be transferred to and from the transfertarget. Then, the transport robot 150 causes the transport hand 151 a(or 151 b) to linearly slide in a horizontal direction, therebytransferring the semiconductor wafer W to and from the transfer target.

The transfer of a semiconductor wafer W between the transport robot 150and the transfer robot 120 is performed through the cooling parts 130and 140. That is, the first cool chamber 131 in the cooling part 130 andthe second cool chamber 141 in the cooling part 140 function also aspaths for transferring a semiconductor wafer W between the transportrobot 150 and the transfer robot 120. Specifically, one of the transportrobot 150 and the transfer robot 120 transfers a semiconductor wafer Wto the first cool chamber 131 or the second cool chamber 141, and theother of the transport robot 150 and the transfer robot 120 receives thesemiconductor wafer W, whereby the transfer of the semiconductor wafer Wis performed.

As mentioned above, the gate valves 181 and 182 are provided between theindexer part 101 and the first and second cool chambers 131 and 141,respectively. The gate valves 183 and 184 are provided between thetransport chamber 170 and the first and second cool chambers 131 and141, respectively. A gate valve 185 is further provided between thetransport chamber 170 and the treatment chamber 6 of the heat treatmentpart 160. These gate valves 181 to 185 are opened and closed, asappropriate, when the semiconductor wafer W is transported in the heattreatment apparatus 100. Nitrogen gas is supplied from a gas supply partto the transport chamber 170 and the alignment chamber 231, and anexhaust part exhausts atmospheres from the transport chamber 170 and thealignment chamber 231 (both not shown).

Next, the configuration of the heat treatment part 160 will bedescribed. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing theconfiguration of the heat treatment part 160. The heat treatment part160 includes the treatment chamber 6 for receiving a semiconductor waferW therein to perform heating treatment on the semiconductor wafer W, aflash lamp house 5 including the plurality of built-in flash lamps FL,and a halogen lamp house 4 including a plurality of built-in halogenlamps HL. The flash lamp house 5 is provided over the treatment chamber6, and the halogen lamp house 4 is provided under the treatment chamber6. The heat treatment part 160 further includes a holder 7 providedinside the treatment chamber 6 and for holding a semiconductor wafer Win a horizontal attitude, and a transfer mechanism 10 provided insidethe treatment chamber 6 and for transferring a semiconductor wafer Wbetween the holder 7 and the transport robot 150.

The treatment chamber 6 is configured such that upper and lower chamberwindows 63 and 64 made of quartz are mounted to the top and bottom,respectively, of a tubular chamber side portion 61. The chamber sideportion 61 has a generally tubular shape having an open top and an openbottom. The upper chamber window 63 is mounted to block the top openingof the chamber side portion 61, and the lower chamber window 64 ismounted to block the bottom opening thereof. The upper chamber window 63forming the ceiling of the treatment chamber 6 is a disk-shaped membermade of quartz, and serves as a quartz window that transmits flashes oflight emitted from the flash lamps FL therethrough into the treatmentchamber 6. The lower chamber window 64 forming the floor of thetreatment chamber 6 is also a disk-shaped member made of quartz, andserves as a quartz window that transmits light emitted from the halogenlamps HL therethrough into the treatment chamber 6.

An upper reflective ring 68 is mounted to an upper portion of the innerwall surface of the chamber side portion 61, and a lower reflective ring69 is mounted to a lower portion thereof. Both of the upper and lowerreflective rings 68 and 69 are in the form of an annular ring. The upperreflective ring 68 is mounted by being inserted downwardly from the topof the chamber side portion 61. The lower reflective ring 69, on theother hand, is mounted by being inserted upwardly from the bottom of thechamber side portion 61 and fastened with screws not shown. In otherwords, the upper and lower reflective rings 68 and 69 are removablymounted to the chamber side portion 61. An interior space of thetreatment chamber 6, i.e. a space surrounded by the upper chamber window63, the lower chamber window 64, the chamber side portion 61, and theupper and lower reflective rings 68 and 69, is defined as a heattreatment space 65.

A recessed portion 62 is defined in the inner wall surface of thetreatment chamber 6 by mounting the upper and lower reflective rings 68and 69 to the chamber side portion 61. Specifically, the recessedportion 62 is defined which is surrounded by a middle portion of theinner wall surface of the chamber side portion 61 where the reflectiverings 68 and 69 are not mounted, a lower end surface of the upperreflective ring 68, and an upper end surface of the lower reflectivering 69. The recessed portion 62 is provided in the form of a horizontalannular ring in the inner wall surface of the treatment chamber 6, andsurrounds the holder 7 which holds a semiconductor wafer W. The chamberside portion 61 and the upper and lower reflective rings 68 and 69 aremade of a metal material (e.g., stainless steel) with high strength andhigh heat resistance.

The chamber side portion 61 is provided with a transport opening(throat) 66 for the transport of a semiconductor wafer W therethroughinto and out of the treatment chamber 6. The transport opening 66 isopenable and closable by the gate valve 185. The transport opening 66 isconnected in communication with an outer peripheral surface of therecessed portion 62. Thus, when the transport opening 66 is opened bythe gate valve 185, a semiconductor wafer W is allowed to be transportedthrough the transport opening 66 and the recessed portion 62 into andout of the heat treatment space 65. When the transport opening 66 isclosed by the gate valve 185, the heat treatment space 65 in thetreatment chamber 6 is an enclosed space.

At least one gas supply opening 81 for supplying a treatment gastherethrough into the heat treatment space 65 is provided in an upperportion of the inner wall of the treatment chamber 6. The gas supplyopening 81 is provided above the recessed portion 62, and may beprovided in the upper reflective ring 68. The gas supply opening 81 isconnected in communication with a gas supply pipe 83 through a bufferspace 82 provided in the form of an annular ring inside the side wall ofthe treatment chamber 6. The gas supply pipe 83 is connected to atreatment gas supply source 85. A valve 84 is inserted at some midpointin the gas supply pipe 83. When the valve 84 is opened, the treatmentgas is fed from the treatment gas supply source 85 to the buffer space82. The treatment gas flowing in the buffer space 82 flows in aspreading manner within the buffer space 82 which is lower in fluidresistance than the gas supply opening 81, and is supplied through thegas supply opening 81 into the heat treatment space 65. Examples of thetreatment gas usable herein include inert gases such as nitrogen gas(N₂), and reactive gases such as hydrogen (H₂) and ammonia (NH₃)(although nitrogen is used in the present preferred embodiment).

At least one gas exhaust opening 86 for exhausting a gas from the heattreatment space 65 is provided in a lower portion of the inner wall ofthe treatment chamber 6. The gas exhaust opening 86 is provided belowthe recessed portion 62, and may be provided in the lower reflectivering 69. The gas exhaust opening 86 is connected in communication with agas exhaust pipe 88 through a buffer space 87 provided in the form of anannular ring inside the side wall of the treatment chamber 6. The gasexhaust pipe 88 is connected to an exhaust mechanism 190. A valve 89 isinserted at some midpoint in the gas exhaust pipe 88. When the valve 89is opened, the gas in the heat treatment space 65 is exhausted throughthe gas exhaust opening 86 and the buffer space 87 to the gas exhaustpipe 88. The at least one gas supply opening 81 and the at least one gasexhaust opening 86 may include a plurality of gas supply openings 81 anda plurality of gas exhaust openings 86, respectively, arranged in acircumferential direction of the treatment chamber 6, and may be in theform of slits. The treatment gas supply source 85 and the exhaustmechanism 190 may be mechanisms provided in the heat treatment apparatus100 or be utility systems in a factory in which the heat treatmentapparatus 100 is installed.

A gas exhaust pipe 191 for exhausting the gas from the heat treatmentspace 65 is also connected to a distal end of the transport opening 66.The gas exhaust pipe 191 is connected through a valve 192 to the exhaustmechanism 190. By opening the valve 192, the gas in the treatmentchamber 6 is exhausted through the transport opening 66.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the entire external appearance ofthe holder 7. The holder 7 includes a base ring 71, coupling portions72, and a susceptor 74. The base ring 71, the coupling portions 72, andthe susceptor 74 are all made of quartz. In other words, the whole ofthe holder 7 is made of quartz.

The base ring 71 is a quartz member having an arcuate shape obtained byremoving a portion from an annular shape. This removed portion isprovided to prevent interference between transfer arms 11 of thetransfer mechanism 10 to be described later and the base ring 71. Thebase ring 71 is supported by the wall surface of the treatment chamber 6by being placed on the bottom surface of the recessed portion 62 (withreference to FIG. 3). The multiple coupling portions 72 (in the presentpreferred embodiment, four coupling portions 72) are mounted upright onthe upper surface of the base ring 71 and arranged in a circumferentialdirection of the annular shape thereof. The coupling portions 72 arequartz members, and are rigidly secured to the base ring 71 by welding.

The susceptor 74 is supported by the four coupling portions 72 providedon the base ring 71. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the susceptor 74. FIG. 6is a sectional view of the susceptor 74. The susceptor 74 includes aholding plate 75, a guide ring 76, and a plurality of substrate supportpins 77. The holding plate 75 is a generally circular planar member madeof quartz. The diameter of the holding plate 75 is greater than that ofa semiconductor wafer W. In other words, the holding plate 75 has asize, as seen in plan view, greater than that of the semiconductor waferW.

The guide ring 76 is provided on a peripheral portion of the uppersurface of the holding plate 75. The guide ring 76 is an annular memberhaving an inner diameter greater than the diameter of the semiconductorwafer W. For example, when the diameter of the semiconductor wafer W is300 mm, the inner diameter of the guide ring 76 is 320 mm. The innerperiphery of the guide ring 76 is in the form of a tapered surface whichbecomes wider in an upward direction from the holding plate 75. Theguide ring 76 is made of quartz similar to that of the holding plate 75.The guide ring 76 may be welded to the upper surface of the holdingplate 75 or fixed to the holding plate 75 with separately machined pinsand the like. Alternatively, the holding plate 75 and the guide ring 76may be machined as an integral member.

A region of the upper surface of the holding plate 75 which is insidethe guide ring 76 serves as a planar holding surface 75 a for holdingthe semiconductor wafer W. The substrate support pins 77 are providedupright on the holding surface 75 a of the holding plate 75. In thepresent preferred embodiment, a total of 12 substrate support pins 77are spaced at intervals of 30 degrees along the circumference of acircle concentric with the outer circumference of the holding surface 75a (the inner circumference of the guide ring 76). The diameter of thecircle on which the 12 substrate support pins 77 are disposed (thedistance between opposed ones of the substrate support pins 77) issmaller than the diameter of the semiconductor wafer W, and is 270 to280 mm (in the present preferred embodiment, 270 mm) when the diameterof the semiconductor wafer W is 300 mm. Each of the substrate supportpins 77 is made of quartz. The substrate support pins 77 may be providedby welding on the upper surface of the holding plate 75 or machinedintegrally with the holding plate 75.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the four coupling portions 72 providedupright on the base ring 71 and the peripheral portion of the holdingplate 75 of the susceptor 74 are rigidly secured to each other bywelding. In other words, the susceptor 74 and the base ring 71 arefixedly coupled to each other with the coupling portions 72. The basering 71 of such a holder 7 is supported by the wall surface of thetreatment chamber 6, whereby the holder 7 is mounted to the treatmentchamber 6. With the holder 7 mounted to the treatment chamber 6, theholding plate 75 of the susceptor 74 assumes a horizontal attitude (anattitude such that the normal to the holding plate 75 coincides with avertical direction). In other words, the holding surface 75 a of theholding plate 75 becomes a horizontal surface.

A semiconductor wafer W transported into the treatment chamber 6 isplaced and held in a horizontal attitude on the susceptor 74 of theholder 7 mounted to the treatment chamber 6. At this time, thesemiconductor wafer W is supported by the 12 substrate support pins 77provided upright on the holding plate 75, and is held by the susceptor74. More strictly speaking, the 12 substrate support pins 77 haverespective upper end portions coming in contact with the lower surfaceof the semiconductor wafer W to support the semiconductor wafer W. Thesemiconductor wafer W is supported in a horizontal attitude by the 12substrate support pins 77 because the 12 substrate support pins 77 havea uniform height (distance from the upper ends of the substrate supportpins 77 to the holding surface 75 a of the holding plate 75).

The semiconductor wafer W supported by the substrate support pins 77 isspaced a predetermined distance apart from the holding surface 75 a ofthe holding plate 75. The thickness of the guide ring 76 is greater thanthe height of the substrate support pins 77. Thus, the guide ring 76prevents the horizontal misregistration of the semiconductor wafer Wsupported by the substrate support pins 77.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an opening 78 is provided in the holdingplate 75 of the susceptor 74 so as to extend vertically through theholding plate 75 of the susceptor 74. The opening 78 is provided for aradiation thermometer 20 (with reference to FIG. 3) to receive radiation(infrared radiation) emitted from the lower surface of the semiconductorwafer W held by the susceptor 74. Specifically, the radiationthermometer 20 receives the radiation emitted from the lower surface ofthe semiconductor wafer W held by the susceptor 74 through the opening78 to measure the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W. Further, theholding plate 75 of the susceptor 74 further includes four through holes79 bored therein and designed so that lift pins 12 of the transfermechanism 10 to be described later pass through the through holes 79,respectively, to transfer a semiconductor wafer W.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism 10. FIG. 8 is a sideview of the transfer mechanism 10. The transfer mechanism 10 includesthe two transfer arms 11. The transfer arms 11 are of an arcuateconfiguration extending substantially along the annular recessed portion62. Each of the transfer arms 11 includes the two lift pins 12 mountedupright thereon. The transfer arms 11 are pivotable by a horizontalmovement mechanism 13. The horizontal movement mechanism 13 moves thepair of transfer arms 11 horizontally between a transfer operationposition (a position indicated by solid lines in FIG. 7) in which asemiconductor wafer W is transferred to and from the holder 7 and aretracted position (a position indicated by dash-double-dot lines inFIG. 7) in which the transfer arms 11 do not overlap the semiconductorwafer W held by the holder 7 as seen in plan view. The transferoperation position is under the susceptor 74, and the retracted positionis outside the susceptor 74. The horizontal movement mechanism 13 may beof the type which causes individual motors to pivot the transfer arms 11respectively or of the type which uses a linkage mechanism to cause asingle motor to pivot the pair of transfer arms 11 in cooperativerelation.

The transfer arms 11 are moved upwardly and downwardly together with thehorizontal movement mechanism 13 by an elevating mechanism 14. As theelevating mechanism 14 moves up the pair of transfer arms 11 in theirtransfer operation position, the four lift pins 12 in total pass throughthe respective four through holes 79 (with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5)bored in the susceptor 74, so that the upper ends of the lift pins 12protrude from the upper surface of the susceptor 74. On the other hand,as the elevating mechanism 14 moves down the pair of transfer arms 11 intheir transfer operation position to take the lift pins 12 out of therespective through holes 79 and the horizontal movement mechanism 13moves the pair of transfer arms 11 so as to open the transfer arms 11,the transfer arms 11 move to their retracted position. The retractedposition of the pair of transfer arms 11 is immediately over the basering 71 of the holder 7. The retracted position of the transfer arms 11is inside the recessed portion 62 because the base ring 71 is placed onthe bottom surface of the recessed portion 62. An exhaust mechanism notshown is also provided near the location where the drivers (thehorizontal movement mechanism 13 and the elevating mechanism 14) of thetransfer mechanism 10 are provided, and is configured to exhaust anatmosphere around the drivers of the transfer mechanism 10 to theoutside of the treatment chamber 6.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the flash lamp house 5 provided over thetreatment chamber 6 includes an enclosure 51, a light source providedinside the enclosure 51 and including the multiple (in the presentpreferred embodiment, 30) xenon flash lamps FL, and a reflector 52provided inside the enclosure 51 so as to cover the light source fromabove. The flash lamp house 5 further includes a lamp light radiationwindow 53 mounted to the bottom of the enclosure 51. The lamp lightradiation window 53 forming the floor of the flash lamp house 5 is aplate-like quartz window made of quartz. The flash lamp house 5 isprovided over the treatment chamber 6, whereby the lamp light radiationwindow 53 is opposed to the upper chamber window 63. The flash lamps FLdirect flashes of light from over the treatment chamber 6 through thelamp light radiation window 53 and the upper chamber window 63 towardthe heat treatment space 65.

The flash lamps FL, each of which is a rod-shaped lamp having anelongated cylindrical shape, are arranged in a plane so that thelongitudinal directions of the respective flash lamps FL are in parallelwith each other along a main surface of a semiconductor wafer W held bythe holder 7 (that is, in a horizontal direction). Thus, a plane definedby the arrangement of the flash lamps FL is also a horizontal plane.

Each of the xenon flash lamps FL includes a rod-shaped glass tube(discharge tube) containing xenon gas sealed therein and having positiveand negative electrodes provided on opposite ends thereof and connectedto a capacitor, and a trigger electrode attached to the outer peripheralsurface of the glass tube. Because the xenon gas is electricallyinsulative, no current flows in the glass tube in a normal state even ifelectrical charge is stored in the capacitor. However, if a high voltageis applied to the trigger electrode to produce an electrical breakdown,electricity stored in the capacitor flows momentarily in the glass tube,and xenon atoms or molecules are excited at this time to cause lightemission. Such a xenon flash lamp FL has the property of being capableof emitting extremely intense light as compared with a light source thatstays lit continuously such as a halogen lamp HL because theelectrostatic energy previously stored in the capacitor is convertedinto an ultrashort light pulse ranging from 0.1 to 100 milliseconds.Thus, the flash lamps FL are pulsed light emitting lamps which emitlight instantaneously for an extremely short time period of less thanone second. The light emission time of the flash lamps FL is adjustableby the coil constant of a lamp light source which supplies power to theflash lamps FL.

The reflector 52 is provided over the plurality of flash lamps FL so asto cover all of the flash lamps FL. A fundamental function of thereflector 52 is to reflect flashes of light emitted from the pluralityof flash lamps FL toward the heat treatment space 65. The reflector 52is a plate made of an aluminum alloy. A surface of the reflector 52 (asurface which faces the flash lamps FL) is roughened by abrasiveblasting.

The halogen lamp house 4 provided under the treatment chamber 6 includesan enclosure 41 incorporating the multiple (in the present preferredembodiment, 40) halogen lamps HL. The halogen lamps HL direct light fromunder the treatment chamber 6 through the lower chamber window 64 towardthe heat treatment space 65.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an arrangement of the multiple halogenlamps HL. In the present preferred embodiment, 20 halogen lamps HL arearranged in each of two tiers, i.e. upper and lower tiers. Each of thehalogen lamps HL is a rod-shaped lamp having an elongated cylindricalshape. The 20 halogen lamps HL in each of the upper and lower tiers arearranged so that the longitudinal directions thereof are in parallelwith each other along a main surface of a semiconductor wafer W held bythe holder 7 (that is, in a horizontal direction). Thus, a plane definedby the arrangement of the halogen lamps HL in each of the upper andlower tiers is also a horizontal plane.

As shown in FIG. 9, the halogen lamps HL in each of the upper and lowertiers are disposed at a higher density in a region opposed to theperipheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W held by the holder 7than in a region opposed to the central portion thereof. In other words,the halogen lamps HL in each of the upper and lower tiers are arrangedat shorter intervals in the peripheral portion of the lamp arrangementthan in the central portion thereof. This allows a greater amount oflight to impinge upon the peripheral portion of the semiconductor waferW where a temperature decrease is prone to occur when the semiconductorwafer W is heated by the irradiation thereof with light from the halogenlamps HL.

The group of halogen lamps HL in the upper tier and the group of halogenlamps HL in the lower tier are arranged to intersect each other in alattice pattern. In other words, the 40 halogen lamps HL in total aredisposed so that the longitudinal direction of each of the halogen lampsHL arranged in the upper tier and the longitudinal direction of each ofthe halogen lamps HL arranged in the lower tier are orthogonal to eachother.

Each of the halogen lamps HL is a filament-type light source whichpasses current through a filament disposed in a glass tube to make thefilament incandescent, thereby emitting light. A gas prepared byintroducing a halogen element (iodine, bromine and the like) in traceamounts into an inert gas such as nitrogen, argon and the like is sealedin the glass tube. The introduction of the halogen element allows thetemperature of the filament to be set at a high temperature whilesuppressing a break in the filament. Thus, the halogen lamps HL have theproperties of having a longer life than typical incandescent lamps andbeing capable of continuously emitting intense light. That is, thehalogen lamps HL are continuous lighting lamps that emit lightcontinuously for not less than one second. In addition, the halogenlamps HL, which are rod-shaped lamps, have a long life. The arrangementof the halogen lamps HL in a horizontal direction provides goodefficiency of radiation toward the semiconductor wafer W provided overthe halogen lamps HL.

A reflector 43 is provided also inside the enclosure 41 of the halogenlamp house 4 under the halogen lamps HL arranged in two tiers (FIG. 3).The reflector 43 reflects the light emitted from the halogen lamps HLtoward the heat treatment space 65.

The controller 3 controls the aforementioned various operatingmechanisms provided in the heat treatment apparatus 100. FIG. 10 is ablock diagram showing a configuration of the controller 3. Thecontroller 3 is similar in hardware configuration to a typical computer.Specifically, the controller 3 includes a CPU that is a circuit forperforming various computation processes, a ROM or read-only memory forstoring a basic program therein, a RAM or readable/writable memory forstoring various pieces of information therein, and a magnetic disk 35for storing control software, data and the like thereon. The CPU in thecontroller 3 executes a predetermined processing program, whereby theprocesses in the heat treatment apparatus 100 proceed. The controller 3is shown in the indexer part 101 in FIG. 1. The present invention,however, is not limited to this. The controller 3 may be disposed in anyposition in the heat treatment apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 10, the controller 3 includes a registration part 31.The registration part 31 is a functional processing part implemented bythe CPU of the controller 3 executing a predetermined processingprogram. The details on the processing in the registration part 31 willbe further described later.

The controller 3 is connected to a display part 34, an input part 33,and the bar code reader 115 of the load port 110. The controller 3causes a variety of pieces of information to appear on the display part34. An operator of the heat treatment apparatus 100 may input variouscommands and parameters from the input part 33 while viewing theinformation appearing on the display part 34. A keyboard and a mouse,for example, may be used as the input part 33. A liquid crystal display,for example, may be used as the display part 34. In the presentpreferred embodiment, a liquid crystal touch panel provided on an outerwall of the heat treatment apparatus 100 is used to function as both thedisplay part 34 and the input part 33.

The heat treatment part 160 further includes, in addition to theaforementioned components, various cooling structures to prevent anexcessive temperature rise in the halogen lamp house 4, the flash lamphouse 5, and the treatment chamber 6 because of the heat energygenerated from the halogen lamps HL and the flash lamps FL during theheat treatment of a semiconductor wafer W. As an example, a watercooling tube (not shown) is provided in the walls of the treatmentchamber 6. Also, the halogen lamp house 4 and the flash lamp house 5have an air cooling structure for forming a gas flow therein to exhaustheat. Air is supplied to a gap between the upper chamber window 63 andthe lamp light radiation window 53 to cool down the flash lamp house 5and the upper chamber window 63.

Next, a treatment operation in the heat treatment apparatus 100according to the present invention will be described. The treatmentoperation for an ordinary semiconductor wafer W will be described first,and the management of a dummy wafer will be thereafter described. Asemiconductor wafer W to be treated herein is a semiconductor substratedoped with impurities (ions) by an ion implantation process. Theimpurities are activated by the heat treatment apparatus 100 performingthe process of heating (annealing) the semiconductor wafer W by means offlash irradiation.

First, while being stored in a carrier C, untreated semiconductor wafersW implanted with impurities are placed on the load port 110 of theindexer part 101. The transfer robot 120 takes the untreatedsemiconductor wafers W one by one out of the carrier C to transport eachof the untreated semiconductor wafers W into the alignment chamber 231of the alignment part 230. In the alignment chamber 231, a semiconductorwafer W is rotated in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis passingthrough the central portion of the semiconductor wafer W, and a notch orthe like is optically detected, whereby the orientation of thesemiconductor wafer W is adjusted.

Next, the transfer robot 120 of the indexer part 101 takes theorientation-adjusted semiconductor wafer W out of the alignment chamber231 to transport the semiconductor wafer W into the first cool chamber131 of the cooling part 130 or the second cool chamber 141 of thecooling part 140. The untreated semiconductor wafer W transported intothe first cool chamber 131 or the second cool chamber 141 is transportedto the transport chamber 170 by the transport robot 150. The first coolchamber 131 and the second cool chamber 141 function as the paths fortransferring the semiconductor wafer W when the untreated semiconductorwafer W is transferred from the indexer part 101 via the first coolchamber 131 or the second cool chamber 141 to the transport chamber 170.

After taking out the semiconductor wafer W, the transport robot 150pivots so as to face toward the heat treatment part 160. Subsequently,the gate valve 185 opens the space between the treatment chamber 6 andthe transport chamber 170, and the transport robot 150 transports theuntreated semiconductor wafer W into the treatment chamber 6. At thistime, if a preceding semiconductor wafer W subjected to the heatingtreatment is present in the treatment chamber 6, the untreatedsemiconductor wafer W is transported into the treatment chamber 6 afterone of the transport hands 151 a and 151 b takes out the semiconductorwafer W subjected to the heating treatment. In this manner, thesemiconductor wafers W are interchanged. Thereafter, the gate valve 185closes the space between the treatment chamber 6 and the transportchamber 170.

The semiconductor wafer W transported into the treatment chamber 6 ispreheated by the halogen lamps HL, and is thereafter subjected to theflash heating treatment by flash irradiation from the flash lamps FL.This flash heating treatment activates the impurities implanted in thesemiconductor wafer W.

After the completion of the flash heating treatment, the gate valve 185opens the space between the treatment chamber 6 and the transportchamber 170 again, and the transport robot 150 transports thesemiconductor wafer W subjected to the flash heating treatment from thetreatment chamber 6 to the transport chamber 170. After taking out thesemiconductor wafer W, the transport robot 150 pivots from the treatmentchamber 6 so as to face toward the first cool chamber 131 or the secondcool chamber 141. The gate valve 185 closes the space between thetreatment chamber 6 and the transport chamber 170.

Thereafter, the transport robot 150 transports the semiconductor wafer Wsubjected to the heating treatment into the first cool chamber 131 ofthe cooling part 130 or the second cool chamber 141 of the cooling part140. At this time, the semiconductor wafer W that has passed through thefirst cool chamber 131 before the heating treatment is also transportedinto the first cool chamber 131 after the heating treatment, and thesemiconductor wafer W that has passed through the second cool chamber141 before the heating treatment is also transported into the secondcool chamber 141 after the heating treatment. In the first cool chamber131 or the second cool chamber 141, the semiconductor wafer W subjectedto the flash heating treatment is cooled. The semiconductor wafer W iscooled to near ordinary temperatures in the first cool chamber 131 orthe second cool chamber 141 because the temperature of the entiresemiconductor wafer W is relatively high when the semiconductor wafer Wis transported out of the treatment chamber 6 of the heat treatment part160.

After a lapse of a predetermined cooling time period, the transfer robot120 transports the cooled semiconductor wafer W out of the first coolchamber 131 or the second cool chamber 141, and returns the cooledsemiconductor wafer W back to the carrier C. After a predeterminednumber of treated semiconductor wafers W are stored in the carrier C,the carrier C is transported from the load port 110 of the indexer part101 to the outside.

The description on the heating treatment in the heat treatment part 160will be continued. Prior to the transport of the semiconductor wafer Winto the treatment chamber 6, the valve 84 is opened for supply of gas,and the valves 89 and 192 for exhaust of gas are opened, so that thesupply and exhaust of gas into and out of the treatment chamber 6 start.When the valve 84 is opened, nitrogen gas is supplied through the gassupply opening 81 into the heat treatment space 65. When the valve 89 isopened, the gas within the treatment chamber 6 is exhausted through thegas exhaust opening 86. This causes the nitrogen gas supplied from anupper portion of the heat treatment space 65 in the treatment chamber 6to flow downwardly and then to be exhausted from a lower portion of theheat treatment space 65.

The gas within the treatment chamber 6 is exhausted also through thetransport opening 66 by opening the valve 192. Further, the exhaustmechanism not shown exhausts an atmosphere near the drivers of thetransfer mechanism 10. It should be noted that the nitrogen gas iscontinuously supplied into the heat treatment space 65 during the heattreatment of a semiconductor wafer W in the heat treatment part 160. Theamount of nitrogen gas supplied into the heat treatment space 65 ischanged as appropriate in accordance with process steps.

Subsequently, the gate valve 185 is opened to open the transport opening66. The transport robot 150 transports a semiconductor wafer W to betreated through the transport opening 66 into the heat treatment space65 of the treatment chamber 6. The transport robot 150 moves thetransport hand 151 a (or the transport hand 151 b) holding the untreatedsemiconductor wafer W forward to a position lying immediately over theholder 7, and stops the transport hand 151 a (or the transport hand 151b) thereat. Then, the pair of transfer arms 11 of the transfer mechanism10 is moved horizontally from the retracted position to the transferoperation position and is then moved upwardly, whereby the lift pins 12pass through the through holes 79 and protrude from the upper surface ofthe holding plate 75 of the susceptor 74 to receive the semiconductorwafer W. At this time, the lift pins 12 move upwardly to above the upperends of the substrate support pins 77.

After the untreated semiconductor wafer W is placed on the lift pins 12,the transport robot 150 causes the transport hand 151 a to move out ofthe heat treatment space 65, and the gate valve 185 closes the transportopening 66. Then, the pair of transfer arms 11 moves downwardly totransfer the semiconductor wafer W from the transfer mechanism 10 to thesusceptor 74 of the holder 7, so that the semiconductor wafer W is heldin a horizontal attitude from below. The semiconductor wafer W issupported by the substrate support pins 77 provided upright on theholding plate 75, and is held by the susceptor 74. The semiconductorwafer W is held by the holder 7 in such an attitude that the frontsurface thereof patterned and implanted with impurities is the uppersurface. A predetermined distance is defined between the back surface (amain surface opposite from the front surface) of the semiconductor waferW supported by the substrate support pins 77 and the holding surface 75a of the holding plate 75. The pair of transfer arms 11 moved downwardlybelow the susceptor 74 is moved back to the retracted position, i.e. tothe inside of the recessed portion 62, by the horizontal movementmechanism 13.

After the semiconductor wafer W is held from below in a horizontalattitude by the susceptor 74 of the holder 7, the 40 halogen lamps HLturn on simultaneously to start preheating (or assist-heating). Halogenlight emitted from the halogen lamps HL is transmitted through the lowerchamber window 64 and the susceptor 74 both made of quartz, and impingesupon the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W. By receiving lightirradiation from the halogen lamps HL, the semiconductor wafer W ispreheated, so that the temperature of the semiconductor wafer Wincreases. It should be noted that the transfer arms 11 of the transfermechanism 10, which are retracted to the inside of the recessed portion62, do not become an obstacle to the heating using the halogen lamps HL.

The temperature of the semiconductor wafer W is measured with theradiation thermometer 20 when the halogen lamps HL perform thepreheating. Specifically, the radiation thermometer 20 receives infraredradiation emitted from the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer Wheld by the susceptor 74 through the opening 78 to measure thetemperature of the semiconductor wafer W which is on the increase. Themeasured temperature of the semiconductor wafer W is transmitted to thecontroller 3. The controller 3 controls the output from the halogenlamps HL while monitoring whether the temperature of the semiconductorwafer W which is on the increase by the irradiation with light from thehalogen lamps HL reaches a predetermined preheating temperature T1 ornot. In other words, the controller 3 effects feedback control of theoutput from the halogen lamps HL so that the temperature of thesemiconductor wafer W is equal to the preheating temperature T1, basedon the value measured with the radiation thermometer 20. The preheatingtemperature T1 shall be on the order of 600° to 800° C. (in the presentpreferred embodiment, 700° C.) at which there is no apprehension thatthe impurities implanted in the semiconductor wafer W are diffused byheat.

After the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W reaches thepreheating temperature T1, the controller 3 maintains the temperature ofthe semiconductor wafer W at the preheating temperature T1 for a shorttime. Specifically, at the point in time when the temperature of thesemiconductor wafer W measured with the radiation thermometer 20 reachesthe preheating temperature T1, the controller 3 adjusts the output fromthe halogen lamps HL to maintain the temperature of the semiconductorwafer W at approximately the preheating temperature T1.

By performing such preheating using the halogen lamps HL, thetemperature of the entire semiconductor wafer W is uniformly increasedto the preheating temperature T1. In the stage of preheating using thehalogen lamps HL, the semiconductor wafer W shows a tendency to be lowerin temperature in a peripheral portion thereof where heat dissipation isliable to occur than in a central portion thereof. However, the halogenlamps HL in the halogen lamp house 4 are disposed at a higher density inthe region opposed to the peripheral portion of the semiconductor waferW than in the region opposed to the central portion thereof. This causesa greater amount of light to impinge upon the peripheral portion of thesemiconductor wafer W where heat dissipation is liable to occur, therebyproviding a uniform in-plane temperature distribution of thesemiconductor wafer W in the stage of preheating.

The flash lamps FL irradiate the front surface of the semiconductorwafer W with a flash of light at the point in time when a predeterminedtime period has elapsed since the temperature of the semiconductor waferW reached the preheating temperature T1. At this time, part of the flashof light emitted from the flash lamps FL travels directly toward theinterior of the treatment chamber 6. The remainder of the flash of lightis reflected once from the reflector 52, and then travels toward theinterior of the treatment chamber 6. The irradiation of thesemiconductor wafer W with such flashes of light achieves the flashheating of the semiconductor wafer W.

The flash heating, which is achieved by the emission of a flash of lightfrom the flash lamps FL, is capable of increasing the front surfacetemperature of the semiconductor wafer W in a short time. Specifically,the flash of light emitted from the flash lamps FL is an intense flashof light emitted for an extremely short period of time ranging fromabout 0.1 to about 100 milliseconds as a result of the conversion of theelectrostatic energy previously stored in the capacitor into such anultrashort light pulse. The front surface temperature of thesemiconductor wafer W subjected to the flash heating by the flashirradiation from the flash lamps FL momentarily increases to a treatmenttemperature T2 of 1000° C. or higher. After the impurities implanted inthe semiconductor wafer W are activated, the front surface temperatureof the semiconductor wafer W decreases rapidly. Because of thecapability of increasing and decreasing the front surface temperature ofthe semiconductor wafer W in an extremely short time, the flash heatingachieves the activation of the impurities implanted in the semiconductorwafer W while suppressing the diffusion of the impurities due to heat.It should be noted that the time required for the activation of theimpurities is extremely short as compared with the time required for thethermal diffusion of the impurities. Thus, the activation is completedin a short time ranging from about 0.1 to about 100 milliseconds duringwhich no diffusion occurs.

After a predetermined time period has elapsed since the completion ofthe flash heating treatment, the halogen lamps HL turn off. This causesthe temperature of the semiconductor wafer W to decrease rapidly fromthe preheating temperature T1. The radiation thermometer 20 measures thetemperature of the semiconductor wafer W which is on the decrease. Theresult of measurement is transmitted to the controller 3. The controller3 monitors whether the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W isdecreased to a predetermined temperature or not, based on the result ofmeasurement with the radiation thermometer 20. After the temperature ofthe semiconductor wafer W is decreased to the predetermined temperatureor below, the pair of transfer arms 11 of the transfer mechanism 10 ismoved horizontally again from the retracted position to the transferoperation position and is then moved upwardly, so that the lift pins 12protrude from the upper surface of the susceptor 74 to receive theheat-treated semiconductor wafer W from the susceptor 74. Subsequently,the transport opening 66 which has been closed is opened by the gatevalve 185, and the transport hand 151 b (or the transport hand 151 a) ofthe transport robot 150 transports the treated semiconductor wafer Wplaced on the lift pins 12 to the outside. The transport robot 150 movesthe transport hand 151 b forward to a position lying immediately underthe semiconductor wafer W thrust upwardly by the lift pins 12, and stopsthe transport hand 151 b thereat. Then, the pair of transfer arms 11 ofthe transfer mechanism 10 moves downwardly, whereby the semiconductorwafer W subjected to the flash heating is transferred to and placed onthe transport hand 151 b. Thereafter, the transport robot 150 causes thetransport hand 151 b to move out of the treatment chamber 6, therebytransporting the treated semiconductor wafer W to the outside.

Typically, the treatment of semiconductor wafers W is performed on alot-by-lot basis. The term “lot” refers to a group of semiconductorwafers W subjected to the same treatment under the same conditions. Inthe heat treatment apparatus 100 according to the present preferredembodiment, multiple (e.g., 25) semiconductor wafers W in a lot areplaced on the load port 110 of the indexer part 101 while being storedin one carrier C, and are sequentially transported one by one into thetreatment chamber 6 and subjected to the heating treatment.

For the start of the treatment of a lot in the heat treatment apparatus100 that has not performed the treatment for some period of time, thefirst semiconductor wafer W in the lot is transported into the treatmentchamber 6 that is at approximately room temperature and is thensubjected to the preheating and the flash heating treatment. Examples ofthis case are such that the heat treatment apparatus 100 starts up aftermaintenance and then treats the first lot or such that a long timeperiod has elapsed since the treatment of the preceding lot. During theheating treatment, heat transfer occurs from the semiconductor wafer Wincreased in temperature to in-chamber structures (structures in thechamber) including the susceptor 74 and the like. For this reason, thetemperature of the susceptor 74 that is initially at room temperatureincreases gradually due to heat storage as the number of treatedsemiconductor wafers W increases. Also, part of infrared radiationemitted from the halogen lamps HL is absorbed by the lower chamberwindow 64. For this reason, the temperature of the lower chamber window64 increases gradually as the number of treated semiconductor wafers Wincreases.

When the heating treatment is performed on approximately tensemiconductor wafers W, the temperature of the susceptor 74 and thelower chamber window 64 reaches a constant stabilized temperature. Inthe susceptor 74 the temperature of which reaches the stabilizedtemperature, the amount of heat transferred from the semiconductor waferW to the susceptor 74 and the amount of heat dissipated from thesusceptor 74 are balanced with each other. Before the temperature of thesusceptor 74 reaches the stabilized temperature, the amount of heattransferred from the semiconductor wafer W to the susceptor 74 isgreater than the amount of heat dissipated from the susceptor 74, sothat the temperature of the susceptor 74 increases gradually due to heatstorage as the number of treated semiconductor wafers W increases. Onthe other hand, after the temperature of the susceptor 74 reaches thestabilized temperature, the amount of heat transferred from thesemiconductor wafer W to the susceptor 74 and the amount of heatdissipated from the susceptor 74 are balanced with each other, so thatthe temperature of the susceptor 74 is maintained at the constantstabilized temperature. After the temperature of the lower chamberwindow 64 reaches the stabilized temperature, the amount of heat thatthe lower chamber window 64 absorbs from the light emitted from thehalogen lamps HL and the amount of heat released from the lower chamberwindow 64 are balanced with each other, so that the temperature of thelower chamber window 64 is also maintained at the constant stabilizedtemperature.

If the treatment is started in the treatment chamber 6 that is at roomtemperature in this manner, there has been a problem that a non-uniformtemperature history results from a difference in temperature of thestructures in the treatment chamber 6 between initial semiconductorwafers W in the lot and intermediate semiconductor wafers W in the lot.Also, there have been cases in which wafer warpage occurs in the initialsemiconductor wafers W because the flash heating treatment is performedon the initial semiconductor wafers W supported by the susceptor 74 thatis at a low temperature. To solve these problems, dummy running has beenperformed prior to the start of the treatment of a lot. The dummyrunning is a technique in which dummy wafers not to be treated aretransported into the treatment chamber 6 and are subjected to thepreheating and the flash heating treatment similar to those for thesemiconductor wafers W to be treated, whereby the temperature of thein-chamber structures including the susceptor 74 and the like isincreased to the stabilized temperature. The temperature of thein-chamber structures including the susceptor 74 and the like isincreased to the stabilized temperature by performing the preheating andthe flash heating treatment on approximately ten dummy wafers. Suchdummy running is performed not only in the case of starting thetreatment in the treatment chamber 6 that is at room temperature butalso in the case of changing the preheating temperature T1 and thetreatment temperature T2. As mentioned above, the preheating and theflash heating treatment are performed repeatedly on the dummy wafers. Asa result, cracking and warpage are prone to occur in the dummy wafers.It is hence necessary to manage the treatment history of the dummywafers. The management of the dummy wafers in the heat treatmentapparatus 100 will be described below.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing a procedure for the management ofdummy wafers in the heat treatment apparatus 100. The dummy wafers aredisk-shaped silicon wafers similar to the semiconductor wafers W to betreated, and are similar in size and shape to the semiconductor wafersW. The dummy wafers, however, are neither patterned nor implanted withions. That is, the dummy wafers are what is called bare wafers. Thedummy wafers for use in the aforementioned dummy running are stored in acarrier C (dummy carrier) exclusive to the dummy wafers and differentfrom the carriers C for storing the ordinary semiconductor wafers Wtherein when in use. For the dummy running, the carrier C exclusive tothe dummy wafers is transported into the heat treatment apparatus 100,and is placed on the load port 110 of the indexer part 101 (Step S1).The type of the carrier C exclusive to the dummy wafers is the same asthat of the carriers C for storing the ordinary semiconductor wafers Wtherein, and is a FOUP in the present preferred embodiment.

After the carrier C is placed on the load port 110, the bar code reader115 reads the bar code on the tag attached to the carrier C to acquirethe carrier ID (Step S2). The carrier ID is a code for identification ofcarriers C, and is comprised of a combination of alphanumericcharacters, for example. The carrier ID is uniquely assigned to each ofthe carriers C (including the carriers C for storing the ordinarysemiconductor wafers W therein) used in a factory in which the heattreatment apparatus 100 is installed. The carrier ID read by the barcode reader 115 is transmitted to the controller 3.

Next, a carrier ID authentication screen is displayed on the displaypart 34 (Step S3). FIG. 12 is an example of the carrier IDauthentication screen displayed on the display part 34. The carrier IDread by the bar code reader 115, i.e. the carrier ID of the carrier Cplaced on the load port 110, is displayed in an ID display field 212 onan authentication screen 210.

An operator of the heat treatment apparatus 100 selects whether or notto register the carrier C placed on the load port 110 as a new dummycarrier exclusive to the dummy wafers (Step S4). If the carrier C placedon the load port 110 is to be registered as a new dummy carrier, theoperator selects an “ON” button 213 appearing on the authenticationscreen 210. On the other hand, if the carrier C placed on the load port110 is not to be registered as a new dummy carrier, the operator selectsan “OFF” button 214 appearing on the authentication screen 210.Typically, if the carrier C placed on the load port 110 has not yet beenregistered as the dummy carrier, the operator selects the “ON” button213 to register the carrier C. Also, if the carrier C placed on the loadport 110 has already been registered as the dummy carrier, the operatorselects the “OFF” button 214 because it is not necessary to register thecarrier C again.

If the “ON” button 213 is selected on the authentication screen 210, theprocedure proceeds to Step S5 in which the registration part 31 in thecontroller 3 checks whether the carrier C placed on the load port 110has already been registered as the dummy carrier or not. A dummydatabase 39 is stored on the magnetic disk 35 that is a storage part ofthe controller 3 (with reference to FIG. 10). The dummy database 39 is adatabase in which the carrier ID of a dummy carrier and the treatmenthistory of each of the dummy wafers stored in the dummy carrier areregistered in association with each other. In response to themanipulation of the selection of the “ON” button 213 on theauthentication screen 210, the registration part 31 judges whether thecarrier ID of the carrier C placed on the load port 110 has already beenregistered in the dummy database 39 or not.

As mentioned above, the operator in general selects the “ON” button 213if the carrier C placed on the load port 110 has not yet been registeredas the dummy carrier. However, the already registered dummy carrier isregistered again in some cases, for example, if all of the dummy wafersin the carrier C are replaced with new dummy wafers. In such cases,there arises a situation where the “ON” button 213 is selected on theauthentication screen 210 and the carrier ID of the carrier C placed onthe load port 110 has already been registered in the dummy database 39.

If it is judged in Step S5 that the carrier C placed on the load port110 has already been registered as the dummy carrier in the dummydatabase 39, the procedure proceeds to Step S6 in which the registrationpart 31 overwrites the carrier ID of the carrier C into the dummydatabase 39. Then, the registration part 31 initializes parametersindicating the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers associatedwith the carrier ID of the carrier C in the dummy database 39 (Step S8).

In the present preferred embodiment, the number of times of thepreheating using the halogen lamps HL and the number of times of theflash heating using the flash lamps FL are employed as the parametersindicating the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers. Wheninitializing the parameters in Step S8, the registration part 31 resetsthe number of times of the preheating and the number of times of theflash heating of the dummy wafers associated with the carrier ID of theaforementioned carrier C in the dummy database 39 to zero.

On the other hand, if it is judged in Step S5 that the carrier C placedon the load port 110 has not yet been registered in the dummy database39, the procedure proceeds to Step S7 in which the registration part 31newly registers the carrier ID of the aforementioned carrier C in thedummy database 39. Then, the procedure proceeds to Step S8 in which theregistration part 31 initializes the parameters of the dummy wafersassociated with the carrier ID newly registered in the dummy database39. Specifically, the registration part 31 sets the number of times ofthe preheating and the number of times of the flash heating of the dummywafers associated with the newly registered carrier ID to zero.

Subsequently, dummy heat treatment is performed on the dummy wafersstored in the carrier C placed on the load port 110 (Step S9). The dummyheat treatment performed on the dummy wafers is the same as theaforementioned ordinary heat treatment performed on the semiconductorwafer W to be treated. Specifically, a dummy wafer stored in the carrierC placed on the load port 110 is transported to the treatment chamber 6of the heat treatment part 160. In the heat treatment part 160, thedummy wafer is preheated by irradiation with light from the halogenlamps HL, and the front surface of the dummy wafer is thereafterirradiated with a flash of light from the flash lamps FL, whereby theflash heating is performed. Thereafter, the dummy wafer transported outof the treatment chamber 6 is returned to the original carrier C.Typically, approximately ten dummy wafers are sequentially transportedfrom the carrier C to the treatment chamber 6, subjected to the dummyheat treatment, and returned to the carrier C again. By performing suchdummy running, the in-chamber structures including the susceptor 74 andthe like are temperature-controlled to an intended stabilizedtemperature.

Each time the dummy heat treatment of a dummy wafer is completed, theregistration part 31 updates the parameters of the dummy wafer recordedin the dummy database 39 (Step S10). Specifically, when the preheatingusing the halogen lamps HL and the flash heating using the flash lampsFL are performed, for example, on a dummy wafer stored in a slotnumbered “23” in a carrier C with the carrier ID “A145”, theregistration part 31 increments the number of times of the preheatingand the number of times of the flash heating of the dummy wafer recordedin the slot numbered “23” in the carrier C with the carrier ID “A145” byone.

If the “OFF” button 214 is selected in Step S4, the carrier C placed onthe load port 110 has already been registered as the dummy carrier inthe dummy database 39. In this case, the carrier C is not registeredagain, and the parameters are not initialized. The registration part 31searches the dummy database 39 for the carrier ID read by the bar codereader 115 to identify the carrier C placed on the load port 110. Then,the procedure proceeds from Step S4 directly to Step S9 in which thedummy heat treatment is performed on the dummy wafers stored in thecarrier C placed on the load port 110. Subsequently, the procedureproceeds to Step S10 in which each time the dummy heat treatment of adummy wafer is completed, the registration part 31 updates theparameters of the dummy wafer recorded in the dummy database 39.

The operator of the heat treatment apparatus 100, for example, selects amanagement table button 215 appearing on the authentication screen 210,whereby a dummy wafer management table is displayed on the display part34. FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of the dummy wafer managementtable. A selection box 251 is displayed in a dummy wafer managementtable 250. In the example of FIG. 13, any one out of ten registereddummy carriers is selectable from the selection box 251. The operator isallowed to select a desired 4 is selected by the operator.

The carrier ID of the dummy carrier selected in the selection box 251 isdisplayed in an ID display field 252 in the dummy wafer management table250. The operator may input the carrier ID of an unregistered carrier Cfrom the ID display field 252 in the dummy wafer management table 250 tothereby register the carrier C as a dummy carrier.

Parameters associated with the carrier ID of the carrier C selected inthe selection box 251 among the parameters registered in the dummydatabase 39 are displayed in a treatment history display field 255 inthe dummy wafer management table 250. For example, when the carrier Cwith the carrier ID “A145” is selected in the selection box 251, theparameters of a plurality of (in this case, 25) dummy wafers associatedwith the carrier ID “A145” in the dummy database 39 are displayed in thetreatment history display field 255. The number of times of thepreheating (“Pre-heat count”) and the number of times of the flashheating (“Flash count”) of the dummy wafers stored in the carrier C withthe carrier ID “A145” are displayed in the treatment history displayfield 255 in the present preferred embodiment because the number oftimes of the preheating and the number of times of the flash heating arestored as the parameters indicating the treatment history of each of thedummy wafers in the dummy database 39.

The operator of the heat treatment apparatus 100 selects a desiredcarrier C from the selection box 251, whereby the number of times of thepreheating and the number of times of the flash heating of the dummywafers stored in the carrier C are displayed in the treatment historydisplay field 255. The operator views the number of times of thepreheating and the number of times of the flash heating of the dummywafers displayed in the treatment history display field 255 to therebyappropriately manage the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers.

For example, the operator who views the treatment history display field255 to recognize that the number of times of the flash heating of thedummy wafer stored in a slot numbered “24” in the carrier C with thecarrier ID “A145” exceeds 50 is able to judge that this dummy wafer isnear the end of its life and need to be replaced. When the dummy waferin the slot numbered “24” in the carrier C is replaced with a new dummywafer, the operator selects a “Clear” button 256 for the slot numbered“24”, whereby the parameters (the number of times of the preheating andthe number of times of the flash heating) of the dummy wafer in the slotnumbered “24” are reset to zero. When all of the dummy wafers stored inthe carrier C are replaced with new dummy wafers, the operator selectsan “All Clear” button 257, whereby the parameters of all of the dummywafers are initialized to zero. To close the dummy wafer managementtable 250, the operator selects a “Close” button 258.

In the present preferred embodiment, the dummy database 39 is held inwhich the carrier C storing a plurality of dummy wafers therein isregistered as the dummy carrier and in which the treatment history ofeach of the dummy wafers and the carrier C are associated with eachother. The treatment history of each of the dummy wafers registered inthe dummy database 39 is displayed in the dummy wafer management table250. The operator of the heat treatment apparatus 100 views theinformation displayed in the dummy wafer management table 250 to therebyappropriately manage the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers.

While the preferred embodiment according to the present invention hasbeen described hereinabove, various modifications of the presentinvention in addition to those described above may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, thenumber of times of the preheating and the number of times of the flashheating are used as the parameters indicating the treatment history ofeach of the dummy wafers in the aforementioned preferred embodiment. Thepresent invention, however, is not limited to this. As an example, thedegree of contamination of the dummy wafers may be employed as theparameter indicating the treatment history of each of the dummy wafers.When the dummy heat treatment is performed in a reactive treatment gasatmosphere, a film is formed on the surface of the dummy wafers toincrease the degree of contamination.

Although both of the preheating using the halogen lamps HL and the flashheating using the flash lamps FL are performed as the dummy heattreatment in the aforementioned preferred embodiment, only one of thepreheating using the halogen lamps HL and the flash heating using theflash lamps FL may be performed. In this case, the number of times ofthe preheating and the number of times of the flash heating which aredisplayed in the treatment history display field 255 are different fromeach other.

Although the 30 flash lamps FL are provided in the flash lamp house 5according to the aforementioned preferred embodiment, the presentinvention is not limited to this. Any number of flash lamps FL may beprovided. The flash lamps FL are not limited to the xenon flash lamps,but may be krypton flash lamps. Also, the number of halogen lamps HLprovided in the halogen lamp house 4 is not limited to 40. Any number ofhalogen lamps HL may be provided.

In the aforementioned preferred embodiment, the filament-type halogenlamps HL are used as continuous lighting lamps that emit lightcontinuously for not less than one second to preheat the semiconductorwafer W. The present invention, however, is not limited to this. Inplace of the halogen lamps HL, discharge type arc lamps (e.g., xenon arclamps) may be used as the continuous lighting lamps to perform thepreheating. In this case, the preheating of the dummy wafers is alsoperformed by light irradiation from the arc lamps.

Moreover, a substrate to be treated by the heat treatment apparatus 100is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but may be a glass substratefor use in a flat panel display for a liquid crystal display apparatusand the like, and a substrate for a solar cell.

While the invention has been described in detail, the foregoingdescription is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It isunderstood that numerous other modifications and variations can bedevised without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing a dummy wafer stored in acarrier for a heat treatment process, said method comprising the stepsof: (a) transporting a carrier storing a plurality of dummy waferstherein into a heat treatment apparatus; (b) registering said carrier ina dummy wafer database as a dummy carrier exclusive to the dummy wafers,wherein the dummy wafer database stores (1) identification informationof the carrier and (2) a treatment history of each of the dummy wafersin the carrier, the treatment history is associated with theidentification information, and the treatment history includesinformation on how many times preheating is performed on each dummywafer and how many times flash heating is performed on each dummy wafer;(c) performing the preheating using a continuous lighting lamp and theflash heating using a flash lamp on each of the dummy wafers of thecarrier; (d) each time the preheating and the flash heating areperformed on each of the dummy wafers, updating the treatment history ofeach of said dummy wafers so that the treatment history indicates that(1) how many times each of the dummy wafers in the carrier is subjectedto the preheating, and (2) how many times each of the dummy wafers inthe carrier is subjected to the flash heating; and (e) displaying thetreatment history of each of said dummy wafers in the carrier to provideinformation about when to replace each of the dummy wafers.
 2. A heattreatment apparatus for managing a dummy wafer stored in a carrier,comprising: a receiving part for receiving a carrier storing a pluralityof dummy wafers therein; a registration part for registering in a dummywafer database said carrier transported into said receiving part as adummy carrier exclusive to the dummy wafers, wherein the dummy waferdatabase stores (1) identification information of the carrier and (2) atreatment history of each of the dummy wafers in the carrier, thetreatment history is associated with the identification information, andthe treatment history includes information on how many times preheatingis performed on each dummy wafer and how many times flash heating isperformed on each dummy wafer; a heating part including a continuouslighting lamp and a flash lamp, wherein the preheating using thecontinuous lighting lamp and the flash heating using the flash lamp arerespectively performed on each of the dummy wafers of the carrier; astorage part for updating, each time the preheating and the flashheating are performed on each of the dummy wafers, the treatment historyof each of said dummy wafers so that the treatment history indicatesthat (1) how many times each of the dummy wafers in the carrier issubjected to the preheating, and (2) how many times each of the dummywafers in the carrier is subjected to the flash heating; and a displaypart for displaying the treatment history of each of said dummy wafersin the carrier to provide information about when to replace each of thedummy wafers.